WEEK SIX: Heads Up

I love football. It is my favorite sport. There is no number two. I watch a few sports related events here and there in between February and August, but nothing religiously. I follow the Magic and watched most of the playoffs last year. Baseball was slightly interesting last year with the Rays' run. Hockey is just a waste of bandwidth to me. Honestly, I would probably get into soccer more than anything else if I wanted a second sport. And I love the Olympics - both summer and winter. But that is only ever other year.

The point is, football is it for me. I watch it and love it. It is the only one I can talk even somewhat intelligently about. And it is the only one I follow on a consistent basis. It has been this way since I was a little guy. I used to sit on the couch with my dad and watch games. I was a huge Cowboys and UGA fan. I still have very vivid memories of CBS games - particularly NFC East matchups with Madden and Summerall doing the announcing. I remember crying one day when Rafael Septien missed a 63 yard field goal in a loss to the Falcons - this was before he groped a kid. My parents actually picked me up early from school in fourth grade so I could watch Georgia vs. Texas in the Cotton Bowl. (The game was played on the 2nd, and our school actually made us start back on that day. That year, we only got one week for Christmas. Stupid King's Academy.)

Anyway, all of that to say this. I never thought that football would be in danger with me. Sure, some of the luster is gone. Free agency, business obsessed owners, jerkwad players. All of those things have made me realize that football is just a business and I shouldn't get so invested. But nothing really hurt my love of football like the article I posted last week. The whole concussion thing really bothered me - and I think it will change how I watch football forever. I found myself this weekend seeing big hits and thinking about what damage they were causing those players.

I know that there is the argument out there. "These players know the risks. They love playing the game. They think it is worth it." I have to question that point of view. Do they really know the risks? Have they been briefed? I know that football players all think they are invincible and that getting hurt is just a career risk. But would all of those players be so quick to sign on for this if they really knew the odds of severe brain damage later? I know the NFL makes a big deal now about teaching young guys the importance of money management and keeping the right friends. They bring in financial experts to help them with the jump from broke college students (or paid under the table college student). They have athlete testimonies about going broke or getting arrested. But do they bring in guys like Kyle Turley to say, "Yeah, I pass out for no reason when on a date with my wife"? Do they do a lesson on the number of mental-illness induced suicides of former players?

I doubt they do all that. You know why? There are two sports writers I read on a very very regular basis. Bill Simmons of ESPN and Peter King of CNNSI. BOTH of these guys linked to this article this week - and both of them were stunned about what it said. If two of the most respected sportswriters in America were that surprised, then this is not common info yet. People don't have these reports in their hands yet. And the NFL is probably not going to running into meetings, waving them around any time soon. "Hey guys, look! We give people such brain damage it makes Alzheimers look mild!"

The worst thing is that the article kind of just left things at a "uh, not sure what to do" solution. There are not a lot of answers. You can't make the game less violent. The players are too big, too fast, too skilled, too amped up on chemicals. Helmet technology is getting better, but the stuff that is close to effective looks funny - so people won't wear it. You can't restrict hits to the level to stop the "car crash level" hits - especially when those are every play for offensive linemen. And then those injuries like Tebow's are just freak things. When he fell back, he hit another guy's leg. How do you stop that? You can't. I think it leaves football in a dangerous place - how do they take care of their players while keeping the game intact? I just know that, for now, I am having a harder time getting into the games without thinking of how senseless it is to risk your life for football.

FOOTBALL THOUGHTS:

• The Washington Redskins are pathetic at a historic level. This week is the first game that they are playing an opponent who had won a game. That is correct. Through six weeks, they have played six teams who have not won a game. Giants 0-0, Rams 0-1, Lions 0-2, Bucs 0-3, Panthers 0-3, Chiefs 0-5. That is crazy. NOW for the horrible part. Thanks to the Redskins, four of those teams got their first victory. It is like the Skins are personally making sure the Lions 0-16 stays unchallenged. FIRE JIM ZORN!
• UCF failed in another upset bid. This is what the Orlando Sentinel is saying. How is 27-7 an upset bid? I really think someone needs to sit down with the UCF athletic department and explain, "Playing close for a half against a big team doesn't matter." They still are taking moral victories from not getting annihilated by ranked teams. Just plain stupid. But, they still may have two more moral victories against Houston and Texas.
• USF fans. I have to say it. You have the same disease. ESPN was even railing about it during the game Thursday. You have to consistently beat those ranked in-conference games. It seems USF gets all hyped up for the first half of the year and then gets bored when it comes to winning the conference. So they knock off big teams on the front end and then lose to Rutgers or Cincinnati. That game on Thursday was completely winnable. There is no excuse. Bulls have to win that game or be destined to Insight.com Bowl again.
• If Tebow wasn't QB, Florida would have three losses. He personally put them on his back for the Tennessee, LSU, and Arkansas games. That is a special player - the one who says, "We are NOT losing this game." The more I watch him, the more I like Tebow. The more I watch UF, the more I realize they are completely dependent on him.
• What the heck happened in Jacksonville between January 2008 and August 2008? They go from a great playoff run, barely losing to undefeated New England to last year's debacle. And this year is just wacky. They get blown out by Seattle. In a game they have to bounce back in to get their season on track, they barely beat THE RAMS in overtime. Now there is talk of them moving to LONDON!?! Yeah, the franchise is in trouble. But deporting them? That's a bit much.
• Has any college player more hurt their NFL chances than Sam Bradford? Think about it. We all knew he would suck in the NFL because he's from Oklahoma. What? Name an Oklahoma QB who did well in the NFL. Troy Aikman doesn't count because he transferred to UCLA. Ever since Bradford robbed Tebow of the Heisman, he has been destroyed in the BCS Title game, and been hurt three times. It is like he is made of paper. That can't be good for his future in pro sports. (You know some dumb team was going to draft him. San Fran or Seattle or something.)
• Did you laugh when Ohio State lost to Purdue? I did. I laughed right out loud. No one knew why. I said, "Ohio State lost. Man I hate Ohio State." The only disappointing thing is that now the winner of UF and Alabama can't rely on beating the Buckeyes for the title this year.
• I'm kind of disappointed that Belichick pulled Brady and let up against the Titans. The all time record was in reach. 73-0 the Bears beat the Redskins in the 1940 Title Game. Two touchdowns. That would have been nothing. When you get a shot at immortality, you have to take it. And then go for 2 after the last TD to get the record by yourself

SFL RECAP

• You always hope those #1 vs #2 matchups will be great. More often than not, they don't live up to the hype. Then there are those few games, like Texas vs USC a few years back, where the game is just as epic as everyone hoped. That is what happened in the SFL this week. Stickboy and Bloodthirsty Ferrets were both 4-1, ranked 1 & 2. These two teams are original franchises. They have won three of the seven SFL titles. They have played in five of the seven championship games. They are the Colts and Patriots of the SFL. I swear, their game was more exciting than most of the NFL games. It went back and forth all day. Finally, Ferrets pulled it out with Thomas Jones' 71 yard TD run. Final score 166.68 to 149.30.
• And just think, if Ferrets had started Brady instead of Big Ben and Breaston instead of Maclin, he would have scored over 200 points.
• What do you do if you are Stickboy. In the last two weeks, he has lost to his two biggest rivals. This week he scored enough to win every other game. You can't really play any better than he did. This week he has to play the vastly improving BadCounsel. To avoid becoming the Jets, he HAS to win this game.
• Lots of very gaudy scores this week. Of course, that matched the Arena Bowl scores in the NFL this week. Four teams scored over 140 in the SFL. Twelve players generated 29 points or more - and two defenses did the same thing. Crazy week.
• Drew Brees is nuts. He again put up over 40 points. Of course, he was riding Tampa Bay Rams' bench in favor of Eli Manning. Actually, the top three points generators (Brady, Brees, Schaub) were all riding pine in the SFL. Of course, Ugly Consequences and Ferrets won, so it is hard to question their choices. Rams lost by less than 7 points. Kicking himself today.
• Trades. They are not a huge thing in the SFL. I wish I had tracked how many we had each year. This year we have had two - both involving Ugly Consequences. They have huge ramifications for the teams involved. Part of the reason Ferrets won this week was picking up DeAngelo Williams. Gator Greats has been helped a ton by his pickup of Percy Harvin. But, like the NFL, trades are not a big thing. This is also to remind you the Trade Deadline is later this year - November 20.
• Gator Greats took the threat of being the solitary cellar dweller seriously and put a serious beat down on Steelas. Sure, he was assisted by the fact that Steelas started a mind-numbing FOUR players out on bye. He also was helped by the ridiculous scoring on Yahoo! that gives Defense punt return yardage points. It was the whooping of the week.
• BadCounsel - once our basement troll - is now really coming on tough. He's won three of four, this last one in very convincing fashion. Tally Noles was traveling this Sunday, so we'll give him a slight break.
• Ugly Consequences played a solid game. Da Bus put up a valiant fight, but got stranded by McNabb's unbelievable performance versus Oakland. An interesting note, Consequences started neither player he traded for this week. Maybe he wanted them to learn the playbook more first. But he is on a tear, winning three in a row and leaping to third in the rankings this week.

SFL WEEK SEVEN PREVIEW

• The standing shook down to a big muddled mess. It seems each week there is a lot of big leaps and falls depending on win/loss. For the first time all year, the points seem to match the rankings, though. (Except for Ferrets)
• We don't have any power matchups like we had last week. The top four teams all play lower seeds. Stickboy is again faced with a streaking team as he squares off against BadCounsel. But Stickboy may have timed this match right - Todd Heap is on a Bye for BadCounsel. (Yeah, that won't matter.)
• Newly appointed number one Ferrets take on Tampa Bay Rams. Now, in years past, this would be the week that Ferrets does something stupid and lose. And with Drew Brees on the Rams, anything can happen. You know, if he starts, that is.
• Gator Greats looks to continue his climb out of the pit by taking Da Bus out behind the woodshed. Interesting story, Da Bus just got a new truck. Now he wants to be called Da Truck. He's the Chad Johnson of the SFL. He also is going to be attending UF starting in January. He best get used to Gator Greats now so the arrival isn't a shock.
• Monkey. He just sits there and lets other teams get their glory. And then, when the season is over, he's in the playoffs and everyone's like, "How the heck did he get there again?" 4-2 now. He'll be 5-2 after our glorified Bye Week (the Steelas). Better watch out for that primate.
• Ugly Consequences vs Tally Noles. It's the battle of Ferrets' former roommates. Bonus points for whichever one was more tortured by The Commish during their stint with him. Super bonus for whichever one has more embarrassing stories. This game could go a long way into setting up playoff position, too.
• Have a great week. And don't forget it is FAMU's Homecoming game this weekend. You know you want to be there.